Boy, 12, stabs mother to death following beating over cigarettes

A 12-year-old boy who stabbed his mother to death after she beat him in a rage for smoking was back at school less than a week later.

The woman, identified only as Chen, exploded with rage after discovering her son smoked four packs of cigarettes.

The next morning, the woman was found dead in her bedroom in the town of Yuanjiang, in China's Hunan Province, the New York Times reported.

Authorities said her son told relatives he regretted his actions but didn't think it was a big deal.

"I didn't kill anyone else. I killed my mum," he reportedly said.

Concerned parents said they did not want the boy back at school citing safety concerns.

The boy's father is a migrant worker in Guangdong and his grandfather said local officials instead agreed for the boy to be sent to an asylum in Changsha.

As the boy was under 14 and under the minimum age of criminal responsibility, he isn't held legally responsible for his actions, sparking an outcry on social media in about the age of responsibility.

Most countries around the world adopt 14 as the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

In Australia, the minimum age across all states and territories is 10.